


Face the truth

by plikki



Series: Body part reveals [7]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Crack, F/M, Identity Reveal, Post-Episode: s03 La Marionnettiste 2 | The Puppeteer 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:20:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28406883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plikki/pseuds/plikki
Summary: Marinette thinks there is nothing wrong with visiting Adrien's wax statue and using it for drawing practice. There is no way for her to know what she'd find the face she's drawn so many times in the most unexpected place.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: Body part reveals [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2027963
Comments: 29
Kudos: 245





	Face the truth

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Missnoodles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Missnoodles/gifts).



> Thank you for another body part idea. I'm afraid this didn't turn out to be as crazy as I expected it to be, but I hope it still meets your expectations!  
> I didn't expect to be inspired by the cursed statue scene, but it happened. Go figure!

Marinette loved the peace and quiet, they helped her concentrate. The other reason she was glad that Musee Grevin wasn’t visited by a lot of people was that she was free to sigh and stare lovingly at Adrien’s statue without being considered a weirdo. 

Sometimes people came, took photos with the statues and left, barely paying attention to the girl sitting in the corner with a sketchbook. The people working at the museum also no longer considered her weekly visits something that deserved attention. 

Of course, she always had an excuse ready. She could practice sketching using photos but it was different having a life-like, 3D version in front of her. It was a logical explanation if she ever had to give one. Not that Tikki was buying it, but in Marinette’s defence, she actually spent a lot of her time there sketching. She’d also gotten much better. Only in drawing Adrien, but it didn’t matter.

She was now so familiar with the curve of his cheeks and the slope of his nose that she believed she could draw him from memory, but she still insisted on going there regularly. There was just something magical about being so close to such a life-like version of him.

Of course, she’d learned her lesson from that unfortunate day. She always hung around and watched from afar for at least half an hour before she approached the statue. Not that Adrien had any reason to pretend to be a statue, as far as she knew, especially since she doubted he visited the museum that often. But she’d do anything to prevent such an embarrassing accident from happening again.

Sometimes, when she was sure that it was indeed a statue and the coast was clear, she’d move closer. She mostly looked at his face, trying to memorise his features. Sometimes she’d trace his eyebrows or his lips, admiring how real they looked. Of course, she knew for a fact that the statue felt nothing like the real Adrien but the resemblance was unreal. 

She couldn’t believe she’d been fooled by his act, thinking that wax could feel so warm and so soft. Most of all, she couldn’t believe she’d tried to kiss a statue who’d turned out to be the real Adrien and their lips had barely touched before he’d jumped away from her, but oh dear… The memory alone was enough to make her feel red with shame.

She hadn’t tried rehearsing her confession in front of the statue again, it seemed pointless. And since every time she went there she remembered how humiliated she’d felt, she often wondered why she continued to subject herself to this. But there was some strange peace that being there brought her and she valued the practice no matter how insane it might seem to an outsider.

One time, just once, she’d been tempted to go back to the superhero and supervillain hall where her and Chat’s statues were. She’d felt nervous under the gaze of all the people she’d taken down. But it had been Chat’s statue that had unsettled her the most. She’d been too tempted to get a closer look at him and once there, the urge to draw him had been almost irresistible. She couldn’t help admiring the way the artist had captured him, he looked just as life-like as Adrien. The comparison had made her feel a little queasy. Maybe she knew she shouldn’t pay close attention to him and risk finding out more than intended about him. She’d left in a hurry, her heart beating wildly for some unknown reason.

The next time she drew Adrien, she’d caught herself adding a line where Chat’s mask would go. She’d gasped, irritated by her overactive imagination. She shouldn’t be thinking about Chat, especially when drawing Adrien. She’d kept her visits to Adrien’s statue after that.

***

Marinette knew she shouldn’t be mad at the akuma for interrupting her latest drawing session. After all, it wasn’t important. But she wanted to be back in the relative safety of the museum, away from this irate villain, who’d blocked their way with some strange substance.

Before she could warn Chat to stop and look for a way around it, he’d ended up face first in the sticky mass. It looked like jelly and yielded under her fingers, but its hold seemed to be strong. Judging by Chat’s flailing arms and legs, he was having a hard time breathing, so she stopped her inspection and turned to helping him out.

She had to use all her strength, her yo-yo and a nearby tree to finally pull him free from the goo. Chat finally came free, gasping for air. After she made sure that he was alright, she returned her attention to the imprint he’d left in the substance. 

“At least having your measurements taken for a wax statue is nothing like that,” he spluttered, while her eyes fixed on where his face had been. The jelly-like thing was light blue and almost transparent, but the lines it had left there were surprisingly clear. 

She moved closer, something drawing her in. She could see where his hair had jutted out, breaking the smooth line of his cheek. The line from his mask was also there. But apart from that, it looked strangely familiar. She knew those high cheekbones and had struggled to get that nose right too many times. The chin, the curve of the lips. Oh God, it couldn't be. 

This was why she’d felt so strange looking at Chat’s statue. Because she knew Adrien’s features too well. Normally, she didn’t have time to look at Chat so closely, his face blurring in the heat of the fight or hidden in the darkness of their late patrols. If only she’d had more time, she would have noticed the similarity.

What was it that he’d said about having his wax statue made? Of course, they’d had their measurements taken for their superhero statues. But something about his tone suggested that he’d done it more than once. 

She turned around, finding him composed and looking at her curiously. Before he could ask anything, she lifted her hand to his face. She heard him take a sharp breath when her gloved fingers touched his cheek. It felt the same way. 

‘M’lady?” He asked, eyes trying to catch hers. He was afraid to move, she could tell. A part of her was freaking out, because she was touching Adrien! But then she felt an eerie calm settle over her. It would be ok.

“I’ll tell you later,” she said, forcing a smile. “Let’s get that akuma first.”

Once they knew to stay away from the sticky goo, catching the akuma had been easy. And then it was just the two of them. Her and Chat. Her and Adrien. Yikes.

“So you know how you mentioned a wax statue earlier,” she started by saying. 

“Yees,” he drawled. “You know, the one next to yours in the wax museum,” he added, playing it cool. But she could feel the nervousness coming in waves from him. He knew something was wrong and waiting for the other shoe to drop must have been excruciating for him.

“What about the other one?” She said, raising an eyebrow, “Adrien.” He sighed in defeat, not even trying to defend himself. Then again, he’d never insisted on hiding from her. 

“I didn’t know you knew about that,” he said. 

“I’m very, very familiar with it, actually,” she said, trying hard not to smile. “In fact, there was a time I wished to be a statue as well, “entwined for eternity” with you.” She recited from memory, cringing internally. 

His face changed instantly. He knew what she meant. 

“I remember something else as well, Marinette,” he said, grinning. She admired how quickly he’d recovered from her revelation. 

“What?” She asked, already dreading the answer. 

“That you wanted to be “wax lips against wax lips” with me,” he replied, grinning even wider. 

“Oh God,” she groaned, hiding her face with her hands. “I’m never going to live that down.” 

“It wasn’t our finest moment, I agree,” she heard him say with a chuckle. 

“It was true, though,” she added, peeking at him between her fingers. He froze.

“You said it wasn’t,” he whispered then, moving closer to her.

“I lied,” she whispered back as he moved her hands away. 

“So I can…?” he asked, his eyes falling to her lips. She nodded, hoping that he couldn’t hear the loud thuds of her heart. Just then their transformations wore off, leaving them to blink away the sparks from their eyes. They smiled at each other. 

“A re-do,” he said, leaning in. She wrapped her arms around him and her eyes closed just as his lips touched hers. No one jumped in surprise, no one yelled in panic as well. They melted against each other. It was nothing like the previous time. It was wonderful.

“I wouldn’t mind doing this for eternity, to be honest,” he said when they pulled back. 

“It’s good that you changed your mind,” she teased him. In response, he just kissed her again. She didn’t mind as well. 


End file.
